The young Marcus Rashford and his teammate at Manchester United - Wayne Rooney gave Friday the selection of England a comfortable victory over Australia (2-1), the second in as many games preparation before Euro 2016.
He surprised England coach Roy Hodgson , to align Rashford holder, who little more than four months playing in the youth of the 'Red Devils' ago.
The career of the youth squad has been meteoric, and since last February 28, the date on which debuted with Manchester United, has managed to settle in the first team at Old Trafford and play his first encounter with the 'Three Lions'.
If Rashford seemed one of the strongest candidates to fall off the shortlist of 26 men for the continental competition , performance Friday at the Stadium of Light against Australia produce more than a pain in the head technician.
Just two minutes and 19 seconds after donning the English zamarra for the first time, the striker opened the scoring from first to impale a cross from the left Raheem Sterling who touched a defender.
Dream debut for the squad, dressed today with the No9, who has become, with only 18 years and 208 days, the third youngest player to see goal with the shirt of England player after Rooney (17 years and 317 days ) and Michael Owen (18 years and 164 days)
So, after a start of immaculate party, local, last Sunday and overpowered by the same score to Turkey at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, they played relaxed, without suffering practically no time before some harmless Socceroos.
The stroke of halftime, Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was in his boots the second of his, but his shot from the edge was sent to corner by a successful Matthew Ryan.
In the second half, the pace of the game dropped slightly by the carousel of changes, but within 10 minutes of the restart Rooney, who replaced Adam Lallana , left the party for judgment.
The captain, after a quick counterattack led by Rashford and Sterling, picked up the ball on the balcony area and struck a whiplash drilled the goal defended by the goalkeeper of Valencia , who could do nothing despite its stretched.
Australia, absent overnight, put the fear in the body to local absence of a quarter to the end when Eric Dier, habitual midfielder and center today, two minutes earlier had entered the field by Chris Smalling , he finished off a diving header and his own goal Milos Degenek center.
Despite the rush of ocean, the scoreboard Stadium of Light did not turn to move and England celebrated a deserved victory that moral burden for Euro within two weeks.
- Data sheet:
2 - England: Forster (Heaton, m.87); Clyne, Smalling (Dier, m.73), Stones, Bertrand; Drinkwater, Wilshere (Milner, m.46), Henderson; Lallana (Rooney, m.46), Sterling (Townsend, m.76) and Rashford (Barkley, m.63).
1 - Australia: Ryan; Risdon (Degenek, m.74), Wright, Milligan, Smith; Jedinak, Mooy (Irvine, m.84), Luongo (Ikonomidis, m.58), Rogic (Juric, m.73); Kruse (Goodwin, m.84) and Maclaren (McKay, m.58).
Goals: 1-0, m.2: Rashford. 2-0, m.55: Rooney. 2-1, m.75: Dier (pp).
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED). He admonished Mooy (m.38), of Australia.
Incidences: second preparation match for England for Euro 2016 France match at the Stadium of Light ( Sunderland ).
